 All eyes are on the Supreme Court as a marriage showdown shapes up on the horizon. Two county clerks in Illinois win the right to defend the state's marriage ban, and equality gets a thumbs up from Methodists and a thumbs down, for now, from Presbyterians. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume, and welcome to Marriage News Watch for July 10th, 2012. New court filings by the Department of Justice and the Congressional Legal Group mean that multiple marriage equality cases are now converging on the United States Supreme Court. The House Bipartisan Legal Advisory Group has petitioned the Supreme Court in the case Office of Personnel Management v. Gill. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice has also petitioned for review in that case. And in an unexpected move, the Department has also petitioned for review in another case, Office of Personnel Management v. Galinsky. That's unexpected, because the Galinsky case hasn't been through the appeals process yet. So, DOJ is asking to skip the appeal and go straight to the nation's highest court. In addition to these two DOMA cases, AFER's Prop 8 case may reach the Supreme Court as well. Their next term starts this fall, which is shaping up to be a very busy time for the national marriage equality movement. Turning to the states, two county clerks in Illinois have been granted permission to defend the state's ban on marriage equality. Last month, 25 LGBT couples filed suit against the state when they were prevented from marrying. It was initially unclear who would defend the law, since state officials agreed that it was unconstitutional. But now these two local officials, represented by the conservative Thomas Moore Society, have stepped in to oppose LGBT families. And finally this week, more positive polling numbers. In Oregon, marriage equality is holding onto a narrow margin of support at 46 to 45 percent. That's a slight improvement from last year, when 43 percent supported marriage. Oregon leaders have no immediate plans to return to the ballot and are currently pursuing an education campaign intended to build public support. You can visit AFER.org for more on the federal fight to overturn Prop 8 and win full federal marriage equality. At the American Foundation for Equal Rights, I'm Matt Baume. We'll see you next week.